Granma remains under water four days after Hurricane Melissa

Havana/Four days after Hurricane Melissa passed through Cuba, rescues and evacuations continue in several provinces in the east of the country. The greatest danger persists in Granma, where heavy rains and overflowing dams have flooded large areas of the Cauto River valley.

From that territory, the rescue of a hundred people trapped since Wednesday in the town of Los Mangos was reported this Sunday. The official media has covered the operations with an epic tone, while the inhabitants – scared and exhausted in front of cameras, microphones and helicopters – try to show gratitude. “What this country does, no other country does,” declares a neighbor who has never left his isolated community.

Since Saturday, an emergency operation was deployed in Río Cauto and Grito de Yara, with more than 150 troops and air, amphibious and ground means. The actions have allowed the evacuation of entire families, including children and sick people, transported by helicopter along with some belongings to safe areas.

In the neighboring province of Las Tunas, the authorities set up reception centers in the municipalities of Jobabo, Colombia and in the provincial capital. Despite scarce resources, numerous people from Las Tunas have offered donations and voluntary support, a gesture that contrasts with the bureaucratic rigidity of state agencies.

In Granma, barely half of the electrical service has been restored, a process that the authorities describe as “complex” – the official euphemism to justify all the failures – due to the large number of fallen poles and damage to key facilities. Communications are also severely affected, such as the collapse of stretches of fiber optics and outdoor plants that have left several towns incommunicado. Teams from other provinces, such as Cienfuegos, Havana and Sancti Spíritus, reinforce the repair work.

Recovery is also progressing slowly in Holguín, where the spill from the Camazán dam forced the evacuation of more than 500 people in the Urbano Noris municipality. The communities of Estrada and San Francisco remained isolated for more than 32 hours by land and rail, which complicated rescue efforts and highlighted the vulnerability of the hydraulic infrastructure in the region.

The Minister of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, acknowledged on his Facebook page the serious damage to the railway system in Santiago de Cuba. The Central line suffered severe damage between kilometers 833 and 834.5, with sections where the track was literally suspended in the air. The 205.8 kilometer bridge, which connects Dos Ríos with Palma Soriano, completely collapsed, and several segments remain obstructed by the accumulation of vegetation.

Regarding the solar photovoltaic system in eastern Cuba, official reports speak of partial damage. In Granma, 19 panels of the Las Tapias park were lost and several low areas remain flooded. The authorities of Holguín, Las Tunas and Guantánamo assure that their facilities resisted “with minimal damage,” although local images contradict that version and show parks covered in mud and deformed structures.

Meanwhile, the lack of transparent information has fueled unfounded rumors about another cyclone called Erin. In reality, this phenomenon formed in mid-August and never affected Cuba. There is currently no active cyclone in the Atlantic; the next to be formed will be named after Nestor.

Melissa’s passage leaves behind isolated communities, damaged infrastructure and once again, an official speech that celebrates the epic of the rescue while avoiding, for the moment, talking about loss of human life.